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Cowbee [he/they]

@ Cowbee @lemmy.ml

Posts
40
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14018
Joined
2 yr. ago

Actually, this town has more than enough room for the two of us

He/him or they/them, doesn't matter too much

Marxist-Leninist ☭

Interested in Marxism-Leninism, but don't know where to start? Check out my Read Theory, Darn it! introductory reading list!

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  • The PRC actually has very good ethnic minority protections, both legally and culturally. For example, ethnic minorities were exempt from the One Child Policy, and ethnic minorities at the level of the NPC are better represented than the Han majority by population ratio. The PRC does practice censorship, but this is largely reserved for capitalists and those trying to undermine socialism, a method of self-defense learned by observing western-backed propaganda undermine other socialist countries.

    As for the Russian Federation, communist orgs only critically support it in its actions undermining the global hegemony of western imperialism. Nobody really likes the modern Russian Federation, and everyone would rather the soviet union still be here.

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  • Thanks, but no worries, I'm used to it. I have some severely dedicated haters. I just wish that they would actually try to respond to what they downvote, rather than silently downvote, as there's no learning process created by that. Or when they run off to anti-communist drama communities (usually removing vital context), rather than directly addressing what I have to say.

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  • Amazing.

  • Marxism-Leninism Study Guide: Advanced Course

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  • I don't think, for example, that we should consider flat Earthers and modern science to be equally valid. The same goes for political theory and practice. Dialectical materialism is useful because it helps us know and understand the world, the way it's developing, and our shared place in history. Division is a natural consequence of the class struggle, and therefore correctly working towards abolishing the class struggle gets nearer to that shared conclusion you speak of.

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  • Considering "tankie" is just a pejorative for those that support existing socialism, what practicing communists do you give a pass to?

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  • I genuinely have not seen that, perhaps we interpret the same comments different ways?

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  • Not really sure why you're acting like it's unexpected to be corrected on a misconception.

  • ICE is as American as Apple Pie

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  • Any evidence?

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  • We don't think every single statesian is a fascist, but we do recognize that much of the statesian public is fascist along with the state. The US is a settler-colony, after all.

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  • We actually do read and discuss theory quite a lot, both online and when we are at party meetings (though many times the meetings are for organizing things like protests, or other matters). What you may be noticing is that we don't tend to "quote farm," ie find a relevant quote from a Marxist theorist, and use that as an argument. It's unconvincing and comes across as book worship.

    This creates a 2-sided problem: either we worship theory, or we don't read it at all, in the eyes of liberals. It's a perfect, thought-terminating bubble where there's a great excuse ready-made to not take communists seriously, either we don't know what we are talking about, or we are detached from reality. It's simply impossible for us to not rely on quote farming while actually knowing what we are talking about. Same with "state propaganda."

    I was a communist when I was 15, but even back then I was into the utopia part, not the mass murder fantasy part.

    This more speaks to yourself not knowing what communism is, though. Marx and Engels have railed against utopianism, and were proponents of scientific socialism. Same with the idea of a mass murder fantasy.

  • I'm ready to study theory now

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  • Its not looking good..

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  • But why? What is the material cause of this? I'd say it's the gradual decline in imperialism breeding right-wing populism as the smaller capitalists are pressed downward toward the working classes, and the necessity of austerity to cover for losses in gains from imperialism.

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  • ?

  • Its not looking good..

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  • Imperialism is characterized by the following:

    -The presence of monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life.

    -The merging of bank capital with industrial capital into finance capital controlled by a financial oligarchy.

    -The export of capital as distinguished from the simple export of commodities.

    -The formation of international monopolist capitalist associations (cartels) and multinational corporations.

    -The domination and exploitation of other countries by militaristic imperialist powers, now through neocolonialism.

    -The territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers.

    The global north, Europe included, uses this export of capital to super-exploit foreign labor for super-profits. It also engages in unequal exchange, where the global south is prevented from moving up the value chain in production, allowing the global north to charge monopoly prices for commodities produced in the same labor hours.

    The point I am making isn't simply about land conquering, but an ongoing process of shifting surplus value and resources from the imperialized to the core. Finance capital is the primary mechanism by which this functions.

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  • Why?

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  • This is an absurd caricature of Marxism-Leninism and liberalism.

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  • I'm not sure if there's anything new, just seems to be the standard liberal/leftist beef.

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  • History shows that simply telling the truth isn't actually convincing for those who choose not to be open to new ideas. We all do this, none of us are immune, but only those with class interests aligned with communism tend to be open to new information challenging liberal mainstream perception.

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  • Fascism is not "when the state uses force." Fascism is when capitalist decay forces strong state repression against the working classes to force austerity and consolidate bourgeois control, which isn't how socialist countries function.

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  • More billionaires made in China than the US this year is pretty much incompatible with a belief they practice communism.

    The entire Chinese revolution shows us it was a violent revolution not a peaceful evolution.

    There is no such thing as a "peaceful revolution." The act of taking hold of the capitalist state, smashing it, and replacing it with a socialist one necessitates violence.

    Capitalists govern the secondary and small/medium firms in China, as market forces help socialize production (a key observation for why Marx said capitalism creates the basis of communism). As these firms grow, more billionaires are created, but they are also folded more into the public sector as they grow.

    China is socialist. Public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy in the PRC, and the working classes control the state. For example, when looking at publicly owned industries, we can see the following:

    Even checking Wikipedia, data from 2022 shows that the overwhelming majority of the top companies are publicly owned SOEs. This is China's strategy, they've been honest about it from the beginning. The private sector is about half cooperatives like Huawei or farming cooperarives and sole proprietorships, with the other half being small and medium firms. As these grow, they are folded into the public sector gradually. This is China's Socialist Market Economy.

    As for the state being run by the working classes, this is also pretty straightforward. Public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy, and the CPC, a working class party, dominates the state. At a democratic level, local elections are direct, while higher levels are elected by lower rungs. At the top, constant opinion gathering and polling occurs, gathering public opinion, driving gradual change. This system is better elaborated on in Professor Roland Boer's Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance, and we can see the class breakdown of the top of the government itself:

    Overall, this system has resulted in over 90% of the population approving the government, which is shown to be consistent and accurate. If you want to learn more, while not nearly as in-depth due to time limits as Roland Boer's work (and mostly focused on the Xi Jinping era), Red Pen's A Summary of Xi Jinping's Governance of China can be a good primer! There's also This is how China's economic model works: Explaining Socialism with Chinese Characteristics by Geopolitical Economy Report.

    Socialism is not the absence of private property, but the transition between capitalism and communism, indicated by public ownership as principle. Collectivization of production and distribution is a gradual process, and to dogmatically apply this to secondary and small industry before markets naturally centralize them and prepare them for public ownership isn't necessary.